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Now that I have finished #2 it is time to put #1 on the finishing bench for a french polish , makes sense right ? what I have is a walnut body with a mahogany neck. what is a good way to " pop" the walnut grain and blend the two species of wood ?or maybe it is best to let the contrast shine out . I was supposed to send it out and have it professionaly prepped and lacqered, but that is no longer an option . so now I run it by the sages of the OLF forum seeking enlightenment ! thanks jody

First if you want the neck to match the base color of falnut then you will need to stain the mahogany to match the walnut in the white. This can be done with tranlucent dye or an oil base stain. This means there can be no more sanding to the neck after the stain is applied. or you will need to touch up the stain.

Or leave the mahogany alone and allow the natural contrast to happen. either will look fine. the mahogany will be a good bit more redish under pore fill and finish and the walnut will be a good bit darker brown under fill and finish than either appear in the white.

thank you Michael, what would you recommend I pore fill the walnut with ?I have some z poxy , and some CA readily available perhaps I should mention this guitar has ivoroid bindings with plastic purfling lines. .thanks again Jody

Jody bro not Michael here but I remembered your thread from yesterday and wanted to show you what a Walnut/Mahogany guitar can look like without staining anything:





To my eye I see almost a clash of sorts in the unfinished guitar with these woods - is that what you see too?

But in the finished pic I like it and again nothing was stained.

This one was pore filled with West Systems epoxy (Z-Poxy finishing resin is about the same look, possibly ever so slightly more amber).

I hope that this helps.

either will work fine. I use Medium viscosity CA for dan near everything but I reall like Zpoxy as well.

I've used Zpoxy as well for pore-filling, and if I can do it........

What do you plan to finish it with over the Zpoxy - you said French polish. I've also experimented with that, and it turned out ok, but not as durable as KTM 9 - water based lacquer. Others have remarked on a "bluish" tint that it imparts. I've not seen it - even on ebony headstocks. I've found it pretty easy to spray, and it buffs out very well.

My two cents.

Hesh , nice looking "git fiddle" you got there ! thank you for posting the pics! Corky , yes I am putting shellac over it, right now I am not set up to spray. and after doing one with the shellac, I realy like the user friendliness of the shellac , it is just so easy to work it, ( with a little practice) I also like the idea if I sell the guitar , and it comes back for service or repair, I can easily dust it off and restore the finish . Michael, thanks again for posting , I think I will try the z poxy since it does have a sort of amber or reddish tint to it ! thanks again fellas ! Jody

Here's Walnut, with a Mahogany neck, filled with CA. No stain or tinting.

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That looks nice woody , thanks for posting ! jody